The Nymphrodite Story - 2007 Edition

PROLOGUE

The devastation was too great. Hogwarts had been attacked before, but not like this and not this much. The damage, unprecedented, seemed irreparable.

The proud and ancient walls that stood storm and evil magic were now battered in many places, tattered and swaying, like a house infested by termites. The snow-laden grounds outside the castle were soiled with black and scarlet blood. The cryptic silence of the night, broken only by sporadic sounds of flapping wings followed by a voice that conjured the killing curse, seemed to join in mourning the fallen, for there were many.

"Pile it with the rest!" Professor Snape said, ordering a seventh-year Slytherin, one of the survivors who were still able to help the teachers sort the dead, to levitate the demon carcass towards the pile meant for burning.

"Professor Snape!" Argus Filch called. "Professor--"

The teacher marched towards him in anxious fear, seeing a thin pale arm protruding underneath many carcasses.

"Great Merlin!" he said. He then conjured the Levitation Charm and lifted all the demons to reveal the lifeless body of Dennis Creevey. Severus knelt beside him and slowly closed his bloodshot eyes, wide with the horror of his own death. The skin on his face was still soft, though it was cold; he had just died.

"Suffocation?" Argus asked.

Severus nodded. "Keep checking. There may still be survivors." Argus slightly nodded, then left to check the rest. Severus carefully lifted the lifeless child in his arms and carried him towards the castle.

He met Rio along the way. The Knight was headed for the frozen lake. There he found another captain of the Knights of the Bureau. He was knee-deep in a pool of ice water for he had been hacking the frozen surface with his sword.

"Keizer!" Rio called. His suit of insulated spectrum fibre could withstand the freezing temperature, but he dared not wade in and go nearer because Keizer was hacking as though he had lost his mind. "Keizer!"

"Rio!"

"Hermione," he replied, "no, you can't wade in!" stopping her from going into the water. "It's too cold!"

"We have to take him inside!" she insisted.

"I'll handle this," Rio said, but Hermione hesitated, so he pleaded, "Please?"

Luckily, or perhaps because she was still traumatized by what had happened, she agreed and moved back a few feet from the edge. Rio drew his sword.

"What are you doing?" Hermione cried, alarmed at the sight of the unsheathed blade.

"I'm not going near him unarmed, Hermione." Rio replied. "Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt him. It's just for defense."

Her face, though still doubtful of the weapon in his hand, showed she trusted him more now than when they first met. Hermione nodded and drew her cloak tighter around her shivering body. Rio went closer; he kept calling him but the Knight would not listen... not with that name. Rio decided to call him by his real name.

"Ron, stop! Please!"

Wincing at the sound of his real name used again, the Knight--Ron--stopped and turned around.

"You have to go back to the castle," Rio said, stopping a few feet away from him.

Ron's eyes caught the sight of the drawn sword in Rio's right hand and his own hand tightening the grip on his own blade. "Or what?"

Rio sheathed the weapon. He smiled at him, and immediately he saw Ron's face soften. "Or I'll let her put a spell on you."

Ron looked at the banks; Hermione was there, watching them. He knew they were trying to help. He knew they had the best intentions in their hearts and minds. They were, after all, his dearest friends. People who had been with him and Harry through the toughest times. People who had bled with him, and for him, and were ready to face whatever danger the future holds. He was grateful, but nothing they did would ease his misery; he needed Harry back... back in his arms... back in his life.

He shook his head and sighed. "You'll never understand."

"No," Rio said, "I won't. And this," he pointed to their surroundings, "I don't understand this. I don't understand any of it, and I'm not even going to try. But I do know that you need to get out of this ice box and get some rest. So please."

Ron turned his back to him, shook his head and said, "No." Then he raised his sword again and stabbed the thick ice.

"That's an order!" Rio cried.

"You are not my commanding officer!" he growled, turning sharply to face the taller Knight. "Harry is gone, Rio! He is gone! They took him! And I--"

"You did everything you could!" Rio fired back, moving closer so that they were now only inches apart. "You were outnumbered! No Knight could have won that fight! So stop being stupid and get a hold of yourself!"

Ron shut his eyes tightly. His shaking loosened its grip and the sword fell onto the ice with a clang. Rio grabbed him as he swooned forward, exhausted from the many hours of futile searching.

"You are so stubborn, Weasley!" Rio chided. "You always were." He helped Ron out of the frigid waters, and when they got to the shore, Hermione wrapped her cloak around Ron's shoulders.

"I'll take him, Rio," she offered, "thank you."

Unsure if he should let Hermione carry the burden of Ron's exhausted body, Rio hesitated, but Hermione insisted, and so the Knight gave way and remained at the edge of the lake. He watched them as they slowly made their way towards the castle.

Every step was agonizing; Ron could hardly lift his feet, they seemed to stiffen. Hermione was literally dragging him now, carrying more of his weight than she could manage. By the time they reached the entrance of the castle, she was panting like a dog. Ron looked at the stairs and shook his head. He begged Hermione to call for help; he was too weak to go up and too heavy for Hermione to carry. She agreed instantly. She lowered him down onto the first step of the marbled stair and then sat on the ground beside him. He leaned against the wall and both of them gasped for air.

After a few minutes, Hermione stood; though still breathing hard, she decided it was time to try again. She tried lifting Ron; fortunately, Remus Lupin came out, back in his human form, saw them both and helped her carry Ron into the great hall where all the rest were being treated.

Ron was given a vial of Invigoration Draught. A few minutes was all it took and he was able to stand again.

"You're not going back there, are you?" Hermione asked.

Ron did not answer. He also did not look at her or at Professor Lupin.

"Ron, I think you should go and get some sleep," Remus suggested. "The draught is only to give you strength to move, but it is not going to energize you for long. You still need sleep for your body and mind to recuperate from the fatigue."

"Please," Hermione begged. She walked towards him and searched his eyes. "Please, Ron."

He looked at her, but his eyes seemed not to see her face. He was far away, she thought, still searching for the other half of his soul. When she held his hand and pulled, he did not resist. She led him to the common room of the Gryffindor dormitory. It was not as damaged as the other towers, but almost all the windows were shattered, and there was a gaping hole across the fireplace.

Ron sat quietly on the cushioned sofa that was fortunately untouched. Hermione busied herself patching the hole with anything she could find; then she went to the fireplace and filled it with logs. Soon a yellow light filled the room, and the warmth from the hearth subdued the freezing draft that came from the hole in the wall.

"Where is he, Hermione?" Ron said. Hermione sat beside him; tears glazed her hazel eyes. She rubbed his shoulders lightly, trying to ease the tension that shook them.

"Everyone is doing everything they can, Ron," she said. "You shouldn't lose hope. We could still find him before--"

"Please don't say it, Hermione," Ron begged. He knew he should expect the worst, but he could not find the strength to accept it. Every time he was reminded of it, Ron felt like his heart would burst out of his chest. He had done everything possible--everything they said he should do--to prevent this from happening but none of it worked. In fact, the more he thought about it, the more he was convinced that no one knew what to do and all of it was a complete waste of precious time.

"What are they doing to him?" he said shortly. His quivering voice betrayed his eyes. His drawn face, wet with tears, buried now in his palms, was a picture of anguish and misery. He blamed no one else but himself for what had happened to Harry.

"Don't think of that," Hermione said, "It's the last thing you need right now, Ron. You need to focus and be prepared. If we find the Portkey, you should--"

Ron stood and walked towards the shattered windows of the Gryffindor common room. Outside, he saw dark figures all over the iced-covered grounds of Hogwarts, like black ants toiling endlessly.

"Ron," she said as she walked towards him. His head was against the charred frame of the antique windows that were shattered by many spells when Hogwarts had been attacked four days ago. She could feel her own heart torn with guilt and pity and the anxiety of not knowing how to mend his broken soul. She loved him. She loved him still. Even when she knew he could never give her what she had wanted for so long, there was no one else in her heart but him.

"Sometimes I wish I had never met him," he said. "I wish I never knew what it was like--"

Hermione wrapped her arms around his body that shuddered in anguish. She wished her warmth could absorb all his pain and misery. She pulled him closer, letting his hard back crush her tender breasts, and hoped that she could make him change.

However, Ron could not feel her. He only felt pain, anger, and fear curdling his guts. The tears rushed to choke him like a revolting river, cutting the air that struggled to reach his lungs. He could not fight it anymore, and as he limped and slowly crumbled to the floor, Hermione knew there was nothing she could offer him, and so she let go and stepped back as he cried louder, unabashed and unaware of her. She could do nothing but watch him as he howled with such passion and fury, cursing the gods for this fate.